Forever and Always
by blindreckless-love
Summary: Massington has touched the hearts of all Clique fans, especially myself. And in this heart breaking short story, Massie has to cope with the possibility of having to say goodbye to the one man she would give up everything for, because of an accident: based off the song by Parachute.


Freshly manicured fingers raked through a twenty year old Massie Block's chestnut curls, her golden-hued amber eyes flickering to the green digital numbers that were displayed on the stainless steel fridge's clock in the kitchen, for what seemed like the thirtieth time in not even an entire minute's passing. She had been waiting for her beloved to return home from an day out with his boys, hours on end; he promised to be home around six-thirty so they could spend a little time together before she went to have a night out with the girls — it had been months since she'd seen them, the four girls that she's known since grade school. But now those plans were put on halt as the time rolled around to 10:15 PM; millions of thoughts, all the endless possibilities, racked through her already clouded, jumbled mind. Gnawing softly on her bottom lip, she plucked her phone from her pocket to see if there were any missed calls or texts from him... and there were none. Sadly, she slipped her phone into her pocket once more. _Something important must have come up, knowing how hectic his business gets_, she thought to herself, but it lacked the soothing reassurance she was hoping for. But she'd sent a text to his best friend, asking if he was still with them, and unfortunately, the reply had said no one had seen him since he left to go back to her, those long three or four hours ago.

Getting up from the table, close to done with waiting and just calling it a night, she started walking from the living room, peaking through the window as she passed: no car in the driveway except her own. A soft sigh touched her lips, and she configured that it was better than a tear, because the possibilities of why he hadn't come home only got worse, and she didn't want to believe any of them. She made her way up the winding staircase, and just as her bare feet touched the high glossed finish wood of the second floor, her phone started ringing in her back pocket. Her heart leaped inside of her chest as she prayed that it was him, so he could explain why he was so late for spending time with her, and that he'd make it up to her in every way he possibly could. She took her phone from her pocket, and instantly, her heart slowed at the sight of the unfamiliar serial of numbers. Cautiously, she pressed talk, bringing the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" She murmured into the receiver.

A few breaths and an erratic heartbeat later, the sound of someone emerged from the opposite line. A voice she hardly recognized, but somehow knew fully well, spoke carefully, "Something's happened, Massie. I need you to come down to the hospital immediately."

Without a response, Massie ended the phone call, hurrying into her bedroom, slipping on a random pair of boots and snatching her coat from the back of the chair as she sprinted out of the house, hot tears welling in her eyes as she went over the short and simple conversation. Getting into her car, and starting the engine once the keys had been jammed into the ignition, her mind pulled a bank while she backed out of the driveway, turning slowly and pulling onto the smooth black pavement that had large circles dotting down the road evenly spaced. Her eyes were fixed on the road, hands gripping the steering wheel with a grip so tight that her knuckles were beginning to turn whiter than bone, but her mind — or more, her _memory_ — was elsewhere.

**xoxo**

"Keep your eyes closed." He whispered, his lips brushing against her ear, as a chilled December breeze stroked up her spine, sending her into a wave of shivers. He chuckled softly, his warm breath tickling her, making the little light hairs stick up on the back of her neck. His hand squeezed hers softly, and she tightened their intertwined fingers in response; Massie had no idea what her on-off boyfriend (currently on) since the seventh grade wanted to show her, but according to him, it would be the most amazing thing she'd ever experience, and she trusted him without a doubt. After all they've been through, she knew she didn't have to be scared that something would go horribly wrong, and that everything would go exceptionally right because it was _them_. A faint bell rang, the strong smell of vanilla, cinnamon, and citrus filled her nostrils, and suddenly, it was too warm to be wearing her ivory satin pea coat, her fitted heather gray V-neck sweater dress, black sheer tights, and black suede ankle boots. And she'd only dressed lightly for the special surprise occasion. But, being a good girlfriend, not wanting to spoil anything, Massie kept her eyes closed as his hands gently rested on her shoulders, gripping the collar of her pea coat, and slowly pealing the expensive clothing item from her small, lithe body. It was now three degrees cooler, and she mentally exhaled with relief that she didn't feel so sweaty anymore; she would one day kill him if she sweated, especially since she assume they were in public.

"How much longer do I have to keep my eyes closed?" She asked, trying her best to not sound like she was whining to him.

"You're so cute when you're impatient, Block." He said; she felt his hands place over her eyes and she took this opportunity for her eyelids to flutter open. Her eyelashes brushed against his palms, and she felt the gentle vibration as his hand shook from the feathery touch against his skin. His lips touched her ear again. "Just a few more steps, okay?"

"Mmm." She nodded.

As promised, they took a few more steps, and his hands dropped from shielding her eyes. At first, all she saw was darkness, the swirls peppering her line of vision until it became clear; and her jaw dropped at what was before her. What looked like it had been once filled with furniture in every corner, now displayed a single oval table draped with an ivory lace-lined cloth and two polished antique chairs were positioned on either side directly across from each other. The centerpiece in the middle of the table was a candelabrum that was a shade of red that marveled a rose with a flickering flame, a woven basket with a loaf of bread, and two empty wine glasses that had _their _names scripted with a silver sparkly ink. But the room itself was marvelous; vines twined with honeysuckle roped throughout the smooth deep rich wood walls and a gold tear-drop chandelier dangled in the center of the small but spacious unfamiliar room. Not too far from where the table had been placed, was a rustic stone fireplace, which crackled a fire with dry wood, the flames laminating blue and green from the salt.

"Oh… my… _god_..." She gasped out, finally finding her voice. She hadn't realized that she'd been quiet for longer than he was expecting, but she couldn't help it: Massie was in awe. Her heart swelled inside of her chest, ready to burst with pride at how much time and effort her boyfriend must have put into this arrangement.

"Come on," He led her to the table, pulling her chair out, which she automatically sat down in. She was already at a loss for words, and the night was just beginning. Her skin warmed from being so close to the fire, and she immediately worried that she would begin to sweat, but as he took her small hand into his much larger one, stroking his thumb over the back of her hand, his eyes locked on hers, captivating every millisecond with his warm puppy dog brown eyes and crooked smile, that worry disappeared in a single sustained heartbeat.

"How long did it take you to do this?" she breathed.

A shrug was offered and a familiar flicker danced across his eyes. "Doesn't matter."

"I love you." She smiled, her amber eyes humming with an delighted vibrant gleam.

"I love you too." He mused.

Moments later, a willowy woman with dyed honey blonde hair (wasn't hard to tell from the dark roots that were beginning to show) and blue eyes that shone like sea glass, walked over to them in a traditional waitress uniform for the five star restaurants. Her smile was faker than her breasts and hair color, as she eyed the couple; a frosted bottle was in her hand. She popped the cork and poured the red wine into both of the glasses. No words were exchanged for the meals to be brought to them, and Massie preferred it that way; she had worked on her temper over the years but it was hard to maintain at the flirty batting of her eyelashes whenever the blonde thought Derrick was looking at her instead of Massie, and the coy smile that played on her glossy pink lips.

Their dinner was a French cuisine, one of Massie's favorites since she'd had Inez, the Block's live-in housekeeper for many years, try to create the same dish she'd had while going away to Paris during her Junior year of high school with her French class towards the end of the second semester, for hers and Derrick's anniversary — it had been the rare occasion they'd stayed together for an exact year without breaking up. The meal consisted of white rice, spaghetti with butter sauce, scallops and mushrooms, and white lamb with a hint of rosemary, for Massie, and smoked-and-salted horse meat with basil and oregano, and fried vegetables on fried rice, for him. And Massie immediately knew that he had called in this special order before they'd come to the place, which made her love him even more, with everything she had.

There wasn't much small talk between them, as the dinner had been brought out exceptionally quick after their bottle blonde waitress had disappeared behind the doors that went to the kitchen. The dinner, itself, was peaceful, near silent; the restaurant had every love story-based song playing softly through the white speakers in the ceiling. Massie would have preferred if someone had been playing the violin or something, like there had been done in Lady and the Tramp, which was her all-time favorite Disney movie, but this worked just fine.

After their plates had been cleared from the table, Massie noticed that the waitress didn't come back out; had he already paid for everything beforehand so they didn't have to worry? Her eyes roamed the room, her gaze momentarily out the wide window across the room behind her darling boyfriend. She could see the hint of glistening black waters layered thickly with ice in the horizon, a brilliant white glow illuminated from the full moon that settled, pristine pearly white snow covered every inch of ground. When she focused back inside, she saw that he was getting out of his chair, almost too quickly — was he somehow, suddenly, offended that she'd been looking through the window instead of focusing on him? Her heart stammered nervously inside of her chest. Intently, Massie studied him, she didn't make a move to get up, and as she enticed that he was moving to rounding the table to where she sat.

"Massie Block," his smooth voice sent chills up her spine, and she could only smile at him. "I want you forever, forever and always." He slowly lowered himself to kneeling, one knee traditionally up and a brilliant smile lit up his face. "Through the good, and the bad, and the ugly." He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small black velvet box, popping it open to reveal the most beautiful diamond ring from Tiffany's, her favorite store no less!, that she had ever laid eyes on — and to make things even more perfect, it was a ring she had been eyeing not too many weeks ago when she had gone browsing with her friends. How ironic, she had been imagining herself wearing it… "We'll grow old together, forever and always.." With a nod of her head, tears running down her cheeks, Derrick Harrington stood up, taking Massie to her feet as well, sliding the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand.

A soft kiss was pressed to her lips as he embraced her, and she felt like she never wanted him to let go, she knew that he was her forever, as she was his. Her life had been fucked up for so long, and now she finally believed, finally knew that everything was falling into place. "I love you," they whispered to each other before leaning in for a breathtaking, earth shattering, passionate kiss.

**xoxo**

The tears slowly rolled down her cheek as Massie pulled into the parking lot of Westchester County Hospital, but she blinked back as many tears as she could, no matter how much they stung her eyes. She had to brace herself for whatever lie ahead.


End file.
